Isu and Spectre lead the investigation into the odd metal tunnels. Isu feels that the plating on the walls and ceiling of the metal tunnels is particularly solid. Meanwhile, Spectre's more trained eye reveals that the walls are made of some kind of extraordinarily strong ceramic-metallic material with roughly the integrity of adamantine alloy .
The most striking aspect of the tunnels only reveals itself when Spectre moves in to take a closer look. As Spectre steps into the space between the metal panels he feels a sudden imposition of gravity, rapidly pushing him down to the rocky floor! Once he reorients himself to the sudden sensation, he realizes that the gravity here is lighter than Pact Worlds standard, though certainly enough to walk around freely.
Most of you are currently floating in a large cavern with exits to all cardinal directions, with the north and east ones sporting metal-ceramic clad walls. Peering to the north, the tunnel extends in a dead-straight line. Your darkvision does not extend far enough to see just how deeply it leads.
To the east, the metal clad walls appear to generate a local gravitational field through some unknown mechanism. Beyond the short corridor, you can see what looks like another natural cavern.
To the south, the natural tunnel through the rock twists and turns. You can't get a clear view of what might be beyond without heading down there.
You've encountered clear signs of victims of the akata you fought earlier, both of which seem to be the members of the Acreon crew. Recalling the recorded message you came across back on the Acreon bridge, you know the crew fell back to the Drift Rock in hopes of finding refuge from the akata. It doesn't seem you've found enough people yet to account for the whole crew described in the data... the captain and at least one other crew member may yet have escaped with their lives.
As Isu and Spectre take the lead in looking into the metallic tunnels, Solaria follows them. "Come Ted, Arc let's go this way."
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Isu frowns as the gravity forces him to walk on the ground and not on the wall.
"This is very strange, to have gravity on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere. But then, this is obviously no normal asteroid. Let us continue down this tunnel of death. This one is sure there is plenty more that would like to chew on him."
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After re-centering himself, Arcalinte descends into the room with the others, letting this subjective gravity assert itself.
"I wonder if, once the legal disputes are finished, the Starfinders will have us come back and study this place in more detail. Just the properties of this chamber alone have given me a dozen questions on the nature of gravity, both scientific and spiritual!"
Your group makes its way through the 15ft long metal clad tunnel, feeling the uncanny local gravity grab a hold of you while you're inside and letting you go once you emerge into the eastern chamber.
This chamber is another seemingly natural cavern, once again with zero gravity. To the north, another metal clad tunnel heads straight away... though the members of the party with darkvision can see that it extends only 50ft before it ends in a wall of fallen rock. To the south, a tunnel veers away slightly to the east before heading further southward.
While you're considering your next move, all of the group but Ted suddenly notice that the heaters on your armor turn a little higher, attempting to counteract... something. Alerted by the unusual behavior, Arc, Isu, Spectre and Solaria all notice a spectral apparition rising out of the 'floor' of the cavern to the south-eastern corner! A ghostly skull hovers deep in the darkness of a cracked helmet of this roughly humanoid ghost that wears the spectral remains of a space-suit.
For every 5 points by which you exceeded the DC for this check, you can ask about offenses, defenses, and special characteristics.
Before you can react, wisps of purple light begin to pulse in its ghostly skull, and you're all struck by a mental haze that settles across your minds.
|||| Round 1 ||||
Isu
Arc
Apparition
Ted
Spectre
Solaria
Bold may go
If you are not devoted to attacking a target, roll on the following table at the beginning of your turn each round to see what you do in that round.
d% Behavior
1–25 Act normally.
26–50 Do nothing but babble incoherently.
51–75 Deal 1d8 + Str modifier damage to self with item in hand.
76–100 Attack nearest creature.
If you can’t carry out the indicated action, you do nothing but babble incoherently. Attackers are not at any special advantage when attacking you.
Solaria stares at the apparition, "Remember your crew, remember the Acreon, remember your life.. Leave now and join them in the afterlife, leave this existence and follow them." After her play with the pistol, in one move she slips it down to her hip, looses the clip and settles it .
If any of the party are notably confused, they either babble incoherently, attack themselves or attack one of the party, Solaria will instead change Clever Feint, to Don't Quit
The party is assaulted by the mental pressure, Ted and Isu buckling under the strain. Isu strikes himself with his longsword to try to break the effect, but does far more harm than good. Meanwhile, Arc resists the mental effect and readies himself to act against the creature.
The apparition raises a spectral claw and beckons towards Solaria. At first, there's no sign of what the gesture might mean, but then Solaria is suddenly struck by an intense pain as her intestines begin to rip and tear apart from the inside. She manages to resist the horrible twisting at first but it gradually increases in intensity.
|||| Round 2||||
Isu - Confused (1 rd remains), 8 damage
Arc - Give me an action for round 1 as well as round 2, unless you chose to just hold in round 1.
Apparition
Ted - Confused (2 rd remains). Attacking random party member with his top unless Solaria chooses to Don't Quit him.
Spectre - Still need a save.
Solaria - Let me know who you're targeting with Don't Quit this round. I'll resolve it before their action.
Bold may go.
** spoiler omitted **
Solaria - Let me know who you're targeting with Don't Quit this round. I'll resolve it before their action.
Solaria briefly snaps Ted out of his confusion!
|||| Round 2||||
Isu - 8 damage
Arc - Give me an action for round 1 as well as round 2, unless you chose to just hold in round 1.
Apparition
Ted - Can act normally this round, confused next round.
Spectre - Still need a save.
Solaria -
Bold may go.
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Spectre raises his laser rifle as the creature assaults the team.
As his combat tracking locks on, he says "My sensors indicate that this enemy is neither fully here nor completely absent. It has properties similar to a gas, rather than a solid. My diagnostics do not fully comprehend it."
The droid's shot is accurate, striking it dead center but partially going through it. A much-reduced bolt of energy strikes the wall behind it.
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Ted shakes his head, feeling it clear but knowing the confusion will return. Before he slips back in to the fog he grabs his top and chucks it at the creature. The top splits in two as it arcs its way in to the apparition.
"I really am starting to hate the undead. First thing we do when we get back is to space that one in the crate..."
Spectre raises his laser rifle and fires an accurate shot at the Driftdead, and while the laser bolt passes through it, it still seems to recoil in pain! Arc follows up by launching himself off the wall in a rush, his flames scorching the spirit as he rushes straight through it!
Ted blasts it with a pair of bolts of force for full effect!
After the trio of reasonably effective attacks, it looks far more tattered in appearance. Its ghostly outline wavers, but before it can dissipate it turns in place and swings a pair of incorporeal claws at Arc. Both pass through the solarian's body before he can twist out of the way.
|||| Round 3||||
Isu - 8 damage
Arc - 11 damage
Driftdead - 16 damage
Ted - Confused this round.
Spectre -
Solaria - 6 damage
Bold may go.
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Isu stands back, unsure of what to do in face of this enemy. He begins wringing his hands... flashbacks to a previous failure.
Gunshots took down the ambassador... his duty to protect...everyone dead. Banishment from the Kasathan race.
"Nooooooooooo!!!!!" Isu crouches down and covers his head with his hands.
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Arcalinte growls as the spirit claws at him, but as he regains his footing, he smiles and the golden glow in his eyes seem brighter than ever before.
"I have reached the zenith of my attunement, spirit, and you are right where I want you!"
He makes a sign with one hand, touching his thumb and pinky together with his three remaining fingers extended, and his armor transforms into a swirling, burning wave of energy erupting out from him and consuming the driftdead as it passes, before reforming on Arcalinte's body anew.
"TO THE INFERNO WE GO!"
Arc's wave of fiery light blasts the spirit, engulfing it and consuming it utterly! As the light fades, you see no trace remaining (ending Isu's torment quite abruptly :) )
With a little encouragement from Solaria, Ted breaks out of the last of his confusion.
"No, Isu, Ted and Arc were able to handle that thing quite well. Now you know what you face, I'm sure you will face up to it next time." Solaria, says hoping to allay Isu's fears. "Lets rest a while, we should get our breath back, before we move. We have time to take more of a look at this place. You never know what we might find."
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Isu grabs the outstretched hand and gets off the ground, but he shakes his head. "This one has failed the group. This one is not prepared to fight ghosts; this one is not prepared in my mind, either. This one's body is wracked with disease so that this one's arms can barely move. This place is death, and do we really think that something still lives here? Let's just go."
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"Hey, hey...you didn't fail anyone, Isu. We still beat the ghost, and we know how to handle them in the future. You can't do everything by yourself, and you don't have to beat yourself up for that," Arcalinte replies kindly.
"The dawn brings new light. Once you've gotten some rest, you'll return to the fight stronger and better than before."
As you all contemplate whether to head back to the Acreon to rest for a longer period, your comms suddenly crackle to life. Rasping out amidst a heaping helping of static, you can barely make out Grix's voice.
"Hope you g--- --- okhay down the--. I went on-- --- shuttle to get a bit of shute-- ----- - -as waiti-- for you. And we--. The shuttle! Its khontrols got overri---- by so----ing! Its hea---g bakh to Abs---- Station --thout you! I'll try to workh th--- ---! --- -----!"
He cuts out before you can respond.
When you make your way back to the surface of the Drift Rock to check out the situation, you see a receding blip in the distance: the shuttle already on its way back to Absalom Station proper. Thankfully, it appears the Acreon itself is still in place, anchored to the rock securely.
You traverse the cables carefully and soon find yourselves back in the airlock you took to leave the ship in the first place. A check of the Acreon reveals that almost everything is in order... everything except the shipping container with Eskolar. The lid of the container lies ajar and the container itself is clearly empty. Grix is also nowhere to be found.
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With a groan, Isu falls into a bunk and prays that he will wake up the next morning.
"Arcalinte Soter, if you feel as this one feels, you feel like s~*!. Unfortunately there is only one medpatch left in our supplies. Shall we conduct a Kasathan finders-keepers ritual to determine who gets to use it?"
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As Spectre applies remarkable medical aid, Isu is astounded. "Last time, this one applied my own medpatch by oneself with no aid. Droid, this one wishes you were there for that but this one is extremely grateful in any case. Though, this one is slightly disappointed to not play finder-keepers with Arcalinter Soter."
-2 sickened, +4 medicine check. Thanks Spectre!
The party settles in to rest, some members afflicted by the akata larvae and mentally burned out by all the horrors they've seen thus far. The accommodations of the Acreon are a welcome relief after the strenuous zero-G combat maneuvering and life or death battles on the Drift Rock.
For Arc and Isu, the first few hours of sleep are fitful at best as their bodies oscillate between hot and cold to try to drive the infesting larvae out. Eventually though, both of them manage to settle into a deeper sleep. When they wake in the morning, they find the bunks they slept in to be deeply stained with both sweat and blue-black smears. They find that their skin is covered in fresh sores in places where they were bit by akata jaws.
Despite the sores and the messy beds, both Arc and Isu feel MUCH better. Their fatigue and sickness has lifted and Isu's strength is mostly back!
Solaria smiles at the recovery of both Arc and Isu, "I hope your recovery is complete, you both looked really bad with whatever ailed you." With a spring in her step she happily makes a breakfast for all, "We need to be strong for whatever else is out there." she says gleefully.
After the morning has passed and all is shipshape again, she puts on her armour and is ready to follow the others out again.
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"Feeling very well this morning, Arcalinte Soter. And yourself? Perhaps a good night's rest is what this one needed for a bit of a confidence boost. And holding a new gun helps too. If we encounter more of those ghosts, this one will be able to participate in the fight. Does anyone have a spare battery?"
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Spectre surveys the much-improved warriors.
"I have updated my medical database with these new findings. It is good to see that both of you have improved, inasmuch as our chances to complete this mission and earn our credits are greatly reduced with you at diminished capacity."
His head swivels around the group.
"I have yet to diagnose Ted's ailment, however."